Who gives a crap. Starcraft 2 beta is starting really really soon, don't need anything else at the moment...

Reports of the elite dying are abound on the internet, and in my home as well, one of my dear friends brought his 5 month old elite around, only for it to kick the dust in front of us, there is no permanent fix for the RROD, despite probable millions of dollars into finding a solution.
I am going the opposite, very soon I will build my first ever PC the cost less then two ps3's a year ago, and much more powerful then the PS3 itself. This came after the death of my beloved PS3 and the utter failure of sony to provide a repair service that is financially feasible, it would've cost me 120 pounds just to get it repaired, and even then it would probably not be a permanent one.
If the amount of sony repaired PS3's breaking down soon after the owner got it back is an indication, mine too would have kicked the bucket yet again. I was disgusted by the reliability of such an expensive investment, and a computer like console. Sony themselves said a ps3 can last 10 years straight, mine did not last two years, even with excellent care, 320 pounds pretty much warrants that. They have killed my 15 year long confidence in them, my launch day PS1 and PS2 work like new. If ever I get the DRE in my PS2, I know that with some research, I can fix it for good, there is no permanent solution to the YLOD, despite reams of info on forum boards. The closest anyone got is Glitsky, and his way of fixing the ps3 is not permanent.
One thing the consoles can't even hope to touch is the reliability a pc, and even laptop can offer. My old laptop has done sterling service for 2 1/2 years, and I have treated it very, very badly in the past. Add to that massive stress put on the old, integrated ati gfx chip, and I cannot fathom how it is still working fantastically.
The problem with the 'HD' consoles is of cooling, there is too much tech squashed into a plastic case, yes they both have fans, but one thing the RROD and the YLOD has proven, it that the cooling solutions simply do not work. The consoles cannot dissipate heat built up effectively. This problem is not prevalent on a pc, where sufficient cooling is more than easy to implement, even if you overclock to high noon, God bless water cooling. If ever one of your PC part goes the way of the dodo, you can find out the problem and fix it. That's not the case with consoles, once it's borked, you entrust it's repair to another person which can go horribly wrong.
Heck, my budget laptop has more of a better cooling solution then the PS3/360. With the advent of even newer, more powerful consoles in the future, expect the issue of overheating to be a big one.
Whoever decides to dive into 'HD' console land for the first time, please be prepared for a good chance it will break, whilst your PC sits in it's corner, almost saying, 'I told you so'.

I've had vastly more trouble with PCs than with either my 360 or PS3. My 360 has died twice, the first time with a gpu issue it was repaired in 2 weeks, the second time with an e74 it was replaced with a new unit in less than 2 weeks. Only problem I've had with my ps3 was a small scare that looked identical to my 360's gpu problem but that was 2/3 of the way through arkham asylum...
With PCs, I've had to disassemble video cards and replace heatsinks, dump faulty ram, deal with dead hard drives, dead power supplies, I had to rip my laptop apart to correct a fundamental design flaw with a 2mm thick copper shim that cost me less than a dollar...

someone wrote: Modern PC gaming is, for lack of a better word, dead.
people have been writing that for 15 years. ain't dead yet. but we really do need a new OS from a company who cares about gamers. the only reason to stick with Windows was because of the games but now MS is now an enemy because they want people to game on their other system

I find the "PC gaming is dead" thing funny because honestly I am drowning in awesome PC games, I don't have near enough time to play them all. In less than two weeks I will start paying for Star Trek Online and I have barely played it because of Mass Effect 2, BioShock 2 and Dragon Age. Tomorrow comes Aliens Vs. Predator and shortly after that the GTA4 expansion, Assassin's Creed 2 and Battlefriend Bad Company 2.
I am drowning!
The real thing PC lacks right now is exclusives, but honestly the Xbox didn't have much in the way of high quality exclusives last year either. PC had Risen, which I personally loved, several MMOs and tons of indie titles, as well as much better versions of Dragon Age and Left 4 Dead 2.
I think we're doing fine.

Thats the fault of publishers, not the OS

I've never had any problems with mine cept for the bad game disc that had come with it (360 elite gta bundle). I've owned it since last August with on and off use and no problems with the system itself.
But at least Microsoft hasn't done like Sony and removed features that were there from the system launch. New PS3s don't have ANY backwards compatibility anymore. Which is a really sad thing. :C
Has nothing to do with the operating system really. Microsoft is focusing their development on their console because it ends up simpler, less costly, and they still make a mint off of it. The biggest pro about consoles is that they don't experience a quarter of the problems a pc title does. And if there is a problem then EVERYONE has the SAME problem. Versus a pc title with a billion+ different computer configurations and compatibilities that MAY be a problem.
All the OS wars can really all be crushed by a simple statement: Computers suck. There's no guarantee around problems. Consoles just end up being a much more appealing platform to develop for.

I don't have a PC good enough to run the game, and I own a 360. I'm fine with this decision, though I can definitely understand the uproar.

Time to upgrade that PC!

The new elites are reportedly much better, since they use a proper heat pipe and have replaced the old, problematic GPU heat sink.
Also, as of last year Microsoft extended their warranty to three years in the case of RROD failure.
Also, the price for the elite has dropped to the ~$150 point, which is bearable even if the console is slightly error-prone.
Finally, I live in Norway, and we have the strongest customer rights around. If my console breaks, I'm entitled to a fix or a replacement, no questions asked.

Umm, Dragon Age and Left 4 Dead 2 are not console ports at all, they lead on PC and Dragon Age feels like it was never even thought to be on a console.
Mass Effect 2 I would say is excellent on PC, I feel no console origin from it.
Bioshock 2 is a bit of a port, yes, but a good one like the original if you ask me. Same with the rest in that line, the only one in there with a rep for being a bad port is GTA4, and that's just because of whiney people with old processors.
Anyway, I'm not one for complaining about console ports, I just like good games, and I am drowning in them on my PC.

Um, are you all actually SURPRISED?!

There's a significant difference between a good console game and a good PC game. The control system is so much more simplistic and limited on a console that any game designed to work on one has to be simplified and limited to fit. L4D is significantly more difficult on X-Box than on PC and not because it's designed for PC, but because it's designed for X-Box. The only difficulty level an experienced PC FPS player playing on a PC should really have a hard time with is expert. I can't say anything from experience for DA it's true, but it's still a Bioware game. Bioware abandoned the PC years ago, and Dragon Age apparently wasn't going anywhere until they sold out to EA and made it multi-platform and "dark". I do know for a fact that they've DLCed it out the wazoo, you can only bring three party members at a time (one more than KotOR), it's published by EA and developed by Bioware, and your characters can't die except in cutscenes or TPK.
The significance of something being multiplatform isn't just a matter of performance. It's a matter of design. Consoles are more limited and simplistic than PCs so the gamplay of games designed to be played on consoles has to be more simplistic and limited. Because consoles are more limited and simplistic they attract more limited and simplistic people than PCs and so the games have to be more limited and simplistic to avoid being overly-frustrating to a large percentage of the player base. And of course these people are in the majority, so consoles over all are more profitable. From a purely business standpoint it'd be extremely stupid not to design games for console capabilities and audiences if you were going to bother investing in a console version.

I've been PC gaming and pretty much only PC gaming since the late 80s and I find it amusing you would give me a lecture on what PC gaming is because I like some console ports.
Suffice it to say I find the core gameplay much more important than how the game handles hotkeys or menus. More to the point: I find complaints about most console ports to be nit-picky and annoying.
And Dragon Age was a PC exclusive at first and is an homage to Baldur's Gate. It plays like a PC exclusive and it's a shame you are missing out due to prejudgements.
Mass Effect 2 plays like a PC game as well if you ask me.